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Exploring Petra

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Our group lined up single file in the Siq, placed a hand on the shoulder of the person in front of us and shuffled forward with our eyes closed. Our guide Ahmad played the theme song from Indiana Jones as we gazed in awe at the Petra treasury building.  Some corny fun to start a day of exploration in the archaeological marvel that is Petra. The ancient ruins of Petra are astonishing in their size, they are amazingly well preserved, and they go on forever.  I would like to go back someday to take in the side trails and attempt the steep walk up to the monastery. To get to Petra you walk a mile down through the Siq, a narrow slot canyon that protected Petra from invaders. We looked at temples and ancient shopping malls.  Bedouins provide camel and donkey rides back up through Petra for people who get tired of walking. We walked. A lot. The Not Dead Yet Tour does Petra! The tomb area was open for exploration. Pat and Teresa are in the doorways. Another tourist photo bombed m...
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The Not Dead Yet Tour Visits the Dead Sea

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When brother-in-law Scott first proposed a Nile River cruise two years ago, his reasoning was basically, “You can’t travel or spend money if you’re dead and we are not dead yet!”  We couldn’t argue with his statement, so the Not Dead Yet tour became a real thing.   It was raining hard when we reached the Dead Sea, but by the time we got settled into our rooms and had a glass of wine the skies were clearing, so we jumped into our swimsuits and hiked down to the shore.  It’s true that the high salt content of the Dead Sea makes one extremely buoyant.  I laid back into a deadman’s float and closed my eyes to savor the moment.  I didn’t notice that I was floating away with the current.  Fortunately, the lifeguard towed me back to safety. The next step is coating yourself with Dead Sea mud mixed with Dead Sea salt. Highly recommended! Full body mud masks.! After rinsing off the goo, we hiked back up to the motel. Teresa found the sign documenting the low elevati...
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Temporal Temple Confusion

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We sailed up the Nile to Aswan Dam and back down the Nile to Luxor, taking in many amazing sites along the way!  Blogging was difficult due to limited internet and being completely worn out at the end of each day.  I am blogging again, but please excuse the lack of any chronological order. Nile cruising is not for sissies. Pat and I have managed to avoid “mummy tummy” by sticking to bottled water although we both conquered minor colds early in the trip.  It’s hard to avoid viruses being in close quarters with so many tourists at every destination.  I am happy to see the resurgence in tourism, but I did fantasize about viewing some of these amazing temples in quiet serenity. After a 3 a.m. flight from Cairo to Amman, Jordan yesterday, we spent a restful night on the Dead Sea. I’m sitting in our room this Saturday morning enjoying a rain washed view before heading out on the bus. Pictures to come for our awesome Dead Sea swim later…. Back to Egypt, one of our stops was...
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Death on the Nile: We’re Not Dead Yet

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 I’m now a couple days behind blogging about the amazing temples and tombs we toured, so I’m posting about more fun on the boat! John hates celebrating birthdays, so what is a good sister-in-law supposed to do except draw attention to our group on this special occasion! The Smith clan went back to the roaring 20’s! Happy birthday John! Teresa and Scott were ravishing in red! Pat doing his best Howard Carter impersonation. The dinner staff even joined our pictures.  
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Life On The Boat

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 The Galabeya is the traditional loose fitting garment of Egypt.  Anyone who wanted to was encouraged to barter for one in the Edfu market place to wear for Egyptian cuisine night. They only cost $10-$15 so we were all in! Scott and Pat enjoyed listening to Nubian musicians and we all joined in some of their fun dances. I didn’t get a picture, but Pat brought down the house when he was was selected to participate in a special Nubian dance! Hanging out on the sun deck at sunset.. Sunset on the Nile. The chef did a presentation on making falafel.  In Egypt they use fava beans instead of chickpeas. Today was our first longer cruise from Edfu to Aswan. Pat, Teresa and Scott enjoyed the view and played cribbage on the sun deck. Earlier in the week, a whirling dervish provided an evening performance. The spinning dance is a worship ritual practiced in Sufism, a mystical branch of Islam.
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Balloon Ride Over the Valley of the Kings

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It was well worth getting up in the wee hours of the morning to watch the sun rise over the valley of the queens and kings from a hot air balloon. Up, up and away!  My first balloon ride.  This is a popular tourist activity at Luxor. There were at least 25 balloons and the basket on each balloon held 28 people.  The balloon pilot (in white) was very skillful at maneuvering us over the sights and even brought us down right at the airport at the flights conclusion. The glow of sunrise over the desert where thousands of ancient tombs have been discovered. Sunrise over the Nile. John, Teresa and Scott mid flight.  Pat stayed on the boat. There is a stark dividing line between the lush and fertile Nile farm lands and the desert. Temple of Hatshepsut from the air. We will visit here on Saturday. When our flight returned us to earth, we went back to the ship via van and water taxi.  That is me in the front.
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Farewell to Cairo and Hello Karnak Temple

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 After long days of sightseeing in Cairo, followed by a way early wake up call, we were on our way to the Cairo Airport at 6 am to catch a flight to Luxor and board the MS Antares for a seven-day cruise on the Nile River. I was too sleepy to take an airport photo. Another photo that I didn’t get was a snapshot of the truly insane chaos of traffic in Cairo.  Cars, pedestrians, scooters, donkey carts and tour buses share the same narrow lanes of roadway in an oddly unspoken and graceful dance. Who needs a pedestrian crosswalk or traffic light when you have a horn! I felt pretty safe, but it’s definitely culture shock to see machine gun toting police on the street corners. There are armed but friendly (to us) security guards on the Viking tour buses who help fend of over zealous souvenir vendors. Moving on from Cairo, we landed in Luxor and were in the bus and on our way to Karnak Temple by 9:30.  Karnak is a huge ancient temple dedicated to the deities Amun, Mut and Khonsu....
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